Chief Operating Officer Jamie Davenport talks about the new premium jeans section that will be up and running soon at Tullahoma Industries. / Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean

Written by

Emily Kubis

The Tennessean

TULLAHOMA, TENN. — When consumers think of high-fashion jeans, images of San Francisco or the Hollywood Hills may pop to mind, but not Tullahoma.

Now, a small clothing manufacturer that has carved a niche in military clothing wants to shift gears from making Army gear in khaki or camouflage to making hip-hugging jeans for civilians that can fetch $120 or more via Internet sales.

The idea is the brainchild of Tullahoma Industries, a manufacturer with two plants in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Up to now, the company made its money by winning government contracts to make military apparel and thermal garments (neck warmers, booties and bottoms) in colors such as “Desert Sand” and basic black.

The new strategy to expand into jeans has some retail experts scratching their heads and wondering how Tullahoma Industries can capture market share with its newly branded Grady Mac Denim line.

Richard Davenport, president of Tullahoma Industries, expects to debut the premium denim jeans by late summer.

A pair of Grady Mac Denim jeans is expected to cost between $120 and $160 — the low end of premium jean sales compared with products from a slew of national competitors.

“We’re hoping to be in competition with 7, Diesel, Citizens of Humanity — that type of premium jean,” said Chief Operating Officer Jamie Davenport, Richard’s son. “All of our competition is on the West Coast.”

Grady Mac Denim will feature a 50 percent bamboo fiber, 50 percent cotton blend and will be available for purchase starting in September. The company says its target audience is fashion-forward 18- to 49-year-olds.

The Davenports plan to sell the line solely through e-commerce at first, and expand to select boutiques later as things develop. The company has hired a Texas-based marketing firm to help craft a plan to get into brick-and-mortar stores eventually.

Not everyone is sold on the Grady Mac Denim sales strategy.

Britt Beemer, founder of America’s Research Group Ltd., said focusing exclusively on Web-based sales at first — especially with a product like jeans that requires winning shoppers over with style and fit — could be “very much a mistake.”

Beemer said success for a new denim jeans brand is 100 percent based on distribution.

“If they can get it in the right stores, they’re going to win,” he said. Internet sales alone may not be enough.

'American made' will be emphasized

Initially, Tullahoma Industries plans to advertise Grady Mac Denim in the digital realm, using social media, Spotify and other advertising approaches deemed cost-effective.

“American made” will be highly emphasized as it rolls out its merchandise.

“You know you’re going to get a quality product every time. We have quality standards that sometimes you can’t get from a Chinese manufacturer,” Richard Davenport said. “We want to emphasize that everything we’re doing is American made. We think that’s a growing factor in people’s purchases.”

Going denim is a notable switch from the Davenports’ current products. For the past five years, Tullahoma Industries has primarily produced a portion of the U.S. Army’s combat uniforms. But the Davenports see a loose connection with jeans.

“It’s a very rapidly growing segment. We figured we had the expertise and the fabric ability,” Jamie Davenport said.

According to consumer and retail research company NPD Group, overall denim sales were lower for men and women’s jeans from 2010 to 2011.

However, Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor, a monthly trade survey, said premium denim sales are growing again. Fit and style are the top two reasons people buy a particular pair of jeans, while price rates third, its survey suggests.

One caveat, though: The research shows that only

9 percent of consumers spent more than $100 on a pair of denim jeans last year, and that’s Grady Mac Denim’s preferred price point.

How to compete on a global scale

Eddmenson is creative director of local retailer Imogene + Willie, which he co-founded and co-owns with his wife. The shop features men’s and women’s apparel with an emphasis on tailored jeans from $175 to $375 a pair.

“We compete against global brands that are much bigger than we are,” said Eddmenson, citing customer service and lifestyle branding as key elements to success.

Meanwhile, there are two schools of thought on Tullahoma Industries’ plan to stress e-commerce as it journeys into jeans.

“E-commerce is probably the most overblown category from the viewpoint of the consumer,” argued Beemer, the national retail consultant.

Consumers probably won’t get excited about an article of clothing they can’t see or hold, he said.

The Davenports say they know getting consumers to trust the fit of a pair of jeans that they can’t snuggle into may be a hurdle. But they’re considering the use of clever software to combat the problem, from Xbox body scans to avatars that allow someone to “try on” the jeans in cyberspace based on his or her body type.

At first, Grady Mac Denim’s only retail space will be at its headquarters. Some of the company’s manufacturing area will be redone to accommodate the concept. The plan is to install windows between the production area and the retail shop so consumers can see denim being sewn into garments.